Relatively Precisely When He Means To. – Chapter 7, Act 2, Strip 63

With Halloween over, we return from the twilight zone to our regularly scheduled programming. Just in time for another staple of the fantasy genre: the wizard’s sudden, dramatic entry.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I show this scene from the side that is not normally shown: the perspective of the wizard himself. Usually, you only get to see the wizard make his entry from the perspective of his audience. That’s okay, of course, since that’s the side that you’re supposed to see.
What gets lost in that standard perspective is all the hard work the wizard has to put in to deliver that perfect dramatic moment. That’s also intentional, of course, but here I draw back the curtains to show how it’s all done.

It all starts with the wizard stalking his prey…like a good hunter (crepuscular or not), he has to make sure his prey isn’t forewarned of his presence, that would ruin the dramatic entry. Undignified or not, that’ll usually involve crawling closer from downwind…yeah, not a good look for a powerful being of great wisdom, which is precisely why this is so seldom shown.
The next step is waiting for the right moment…that’s the really torturous part. The right moment is come when the discussion is at a point that allows for a natural and elegant segue into whatever important pronouncement the wizard has to make AND nobody is looking into the direction of his approach, or some sort of cover is available (to allow for the mandatory suddenness of the entry).

That step separates the men from the boys…it takes great patience to wait and wait and wait for just the right moment. On that scale, I can unfortunately only award 7.5/10 to DM for today’s performance…the cover for his approach was kinda flimsy, and the segue was even more torturous than the waiting. >_> In his defense, this particular party is more prone to veer off on strange, interminable tangents in their discussions than the average one. >_>

Will the DM be able to redeem his effort at a dramatic appearance with the quality of his delivery? We’ll learn on Thurs…uh, Monday.